I had the pleasure of sailing on the Symphony of the Seas, the world’s largest passengership, last month. It was a short three-day stint from Miami to the Bahamas and back, but long enough for this first-time cruisegoer to come away with one overriding impression: this Royal ­Caribbean Cruises ship is big. Very big.

At 362 metres long and 18 decks high, the 5,518-­berth, 228,081-gt giant showed its size before I even boarded, dwarfing the company’s new Terminal A at Port Miami.